Picnic
by orpsgod
Summary: A small vignette from Jack's childhood. Please read and comment.


Picnic

Picnic

"Rebecca, you be careful now. You know how much it worries me when you and the little one go there. It's not bad enough you go there too often in my opinion and this is the third time this month. I think you should at least take one of the maids with you."

"Mother, you know how much he enjoys it, he's been looking forward to this all week. I'm not taking one of the maids; this is our special time together. Now stop worrying, nothing is going to happen." Rebecca replied to her Mother as she, her son, and the picnic basket walked out the front door.

By the time they reached their destination Rebecca knew her wee son had to be just about worn out but he didn't show it. His excitement along the way only grew when he caught sight of the vast blue-green expanse in front of him. He clapped his hands in glee, then started letting out little happy high pitched "Oh's" as he jumped around in circles flopping his arms about. Rebecca laughed as she spread the blanket out and watched her son's antics. She grabbed him up and spun him around until they were both dizzy and collapsed together in a heap on the blanket. She tousled his dark curls and pulled him to her in a hug. He allowed this for only a brief moment before breaking free and heading off across the sand, his chocolate brown eyes intently scanned the beach around him as he walked. Every little bit he would stop to pick up and examine different items that had been dropped or abandoned by previous visitors as he made his way to the waters edge, shoving anything shiny or of particular interest into the oversized pockets in his little coat. Rebecca, a smile on her face, followed along, close enough to reach him if need be yet far enough away he could feel he was on his own. He was an independent lad, had been almost from his birth four years ago. There were times when he would allow her to cuddle and fuss over him, but those were few and far between. He had too much energy to simply sit still, hands, arms, and usually feet in constant motion. She had never seen anyone with such curiosity about things, he was always looking and touching and examining things, and just like today anything of interest or of a shiny nature went straight to his pockets. He collected so many items she had made it a practice to specify large pockets when the seamstress made new clothes for him.

He had stopped by the waters edge and she joined him as he stood there and stared out across the waves. She knew from past experience that this was one of the few times he would allow her to hold him for any length of time at all. Whether the sea brought him this much calm or the added height gave him a better view she was not able to judge, but took advantage of the opportunity regardless of the reason.

"Your Da is out there somewhere Jackie." She whispered in his ear as she held him balanced on her hip. Jackie had only seen his Father a dozen or so times during his short lifetime and only for a few days or maybe a week at a time on those occasions. His Father was the Captain of his own ship and gone for long spells. Regardless of the brief time Jackie was able to see him he seemed to understand who this man was and was always happy when he showed up. Once, when it had been some time since his Father's last visit, as she tucked him in bed for the night Jackie had asked her how long till his Da that smelled like the sea was going to come back. She had given him a smile and a kiss and said soon, knowing the life the man lived out there never gave a guarantee of return. She wished things were different, she wished they could go with him. He would promise on his sporadic visits home that one day they would. She was wise enough to know he only said those things to soothe her but she longed to hear the words anyway.

She pulled her thoughts back to the present as Jackie scrambled back down to the ground and was off in search of more treasures. She returned to the blanket and spread out the food she had brought, then called him over to eat. As they sat there together partaking of the picnic lunch she would ask him about the items he had collected and with great imagination he would tell her a wild fantastic story about each one. She didn't see any harm in letting him use his somewhat overactive imagination like this although her Mother often disagreed with her. Not that her Mother didn't absolutely dote on the boy but she swore if his mind was allowed to run wild without restraint he would turn into the most egregious of characters when he got older.

Jackie had finished eating and was once again off on his scavenger hunt. She packed the left over food back in the basket and sat there watching her son and occasionally looking out over the water. Suddenly her attention was caught by a ship making its way around the headlands. She jumped up and called to her son, "Time to go, I think that's your Da's ship coming into port. Hurry Jackie and we can meet him at the dock." In an instant he was by her side and a few brief moments after that they were headed off towards the bay, wide smiles gracing both their faces, each with their own thoughts. Jackie happy to once more see his Da that smelled like the sea and Rebecca with the faint hope that this would be the time they would be going along when the ship left port again.

The End

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